British Politics
Been on holiday for a few weeks, surprised to find no general discussion of British politics so though I'd kick one off.
Tory leadership contest is quickly turning into farce. Trump has backed Boris, which should be reason enough for anyone with half a brain to exclude him.
Of the other candidates Rory Stewart looks the best of the outsiders. Surprised to see Cleverly and Javid not further up the betting, but not sure the Tory membership are ready for a brown PM.
https://www.oddschecker.com/politics/bri...
Regarding the LD leadership contest, Jo Swinson is miles ahead of any other candidate (and indeed any of the Tory lot). Should be a shoe in.
Finally, it's Groundhog Day in Labour - the more serious the anti-Semitism claims get, the more Corbyn's cronies write their own obituary by blaming it on outlandish conspiracy theories - this week, it's apparently the Jewish Embassy's fault...
Just maybe billions could have been wasted investing in rubbish like water saftey labs instead of the vital work of paying huge dividends.
Badenoch is on fire and spot on identifying the lethal threat to society posed by leftism. A domestic threat for the UK, like in all western countries.
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Classic liberal values—not left-wing progressivism, but the classic liberalism of free markets, free speech, free enterprise, freedom of religion, the presumption of innocence, trusted institutions within the rule of law, and equality under the law—all of those were missing when I was growing up as a child under military rule. And those values—that precious inheritance—are right now under grave threat here in the West.
Specifically, they have been hacked by ideologues operating on the inside. But if we can spot their trick, we can stop them from destroying the freest societies in the history of the world.
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That is the trick that those on the authoritarian left have pulled off. They have smuggled ideas and policies that look like liberalism but are anything but. They speak the language of the civil rights movement, but they aim to resegregate us. They preach about social justice, but they do not believe in the most basic ideas of fairness and equality. They demand our tolerance even as they seek to undermine the very culture and institutions that create that tolerance in the first place.
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The UK, like many countries, has generous laws to accommodate persecuted people who are seeking asylum. It was reported this year that one in seven asylum seekers who were housed together on a barge in southern England were converting to Christianity under the supervision of local church leaders.
I am not religious myself. But I am and always will be the granddaughter of a Methodist reverend—and I know the joy that comes to priests every time their flock grows. But I found it shocking that not a single one of these conversions was treated with any suspicion. Or it wasn’t until it was discovered that one “convert” was found to have committed multiple sexual offenses after arriving in the UK, and then went on to carry out a chemical attack in London on a mother and her two young children.
This is what I mean when I say that liberalism has been hacked. When a system that makes accommodations for the vulnerable is being exploited by opponents of that system, something needs to change.
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Pure gold everywhere
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None of us want our countries to be invaded. So, of course, we are against imperialism. Suddenly, a group turns up saying they want to promote anti-imperialism. Sounds important. The government gives them money. They get university grants. They write textbooks and bring their worldview into the school curriculum. And suddenly you find that anti-imperialism is directed solely against our own country—or the West. They’re not criticizing China. They’re not attacking Russia. In fact, in some instances, they praise Russia, which is actively carrying out an imperialist agenda in Ukraine.
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The first step is to explain the value of liberty. Our opponents do not value liberty. They see it as the freedom to do bad things, whether they are offensive or exploitative; that is all they think about. But liberty is foundational for a flourishing society, not just a philosophical “nice to have.”
The second thing we have to do is to stop the expansion of the state.
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Radical left horrendous, cancerogenic ideas killed a relative of hers, this explaines her stances
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Two years ago this month my cousin, who was living in Canada, killed himself. He was 27 years old and had fallen down the social media and internet rabbit hole of anti-natalism and pro-mortalism—leftist movements I’d never even heard of.
He had spent months, we found out, probably years, reading and self-radicalizing, learning about how human beings were a plague on the world, that our very existence was destroying the planet. These movements promoted the idea that having children was wrong—evil, even—and that ending your life was a better way to stop the spread of misery around the world. It was heartbreaking to know that these ideas had filled his mind and tortured him.
LONDON — A majority of Brits who voted to leave the European Union in 2016 would now accept the return of free movement in exchange for EU single market access, according to a new poll.
Research by the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, published Thursday, argued that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump's imminent return to the White House had “fundamentally changed the context” in which Brits see U.K.-EU relations.
YouGov/DataPraxis polled 2,125 Brits as part of its study. It found that 54 percent of those who backed Brexit in 2016 would accept the full free movement of people to travel, live and work across EU borders in return for access to the bloc's single market.
Some 59 percent of "red wall voters" — those in key constituencies which have changed hands between Labour and the Tories in recent elections — said they would back that trade-off. And 81 percent of those who supported Labour in 2024 also backed the idea.
Among all U.K. voters poll, 68 percent supported the idea, with 18 percent against it. Supporters of Nigel Farage's pro-Brexit Reform UK narrowly opposed such a trade-off, by 45 percent to 44 percent.
Classic liberal values—not left-wing progressivism, but the classic liberalism of free markets, free speech, free enterprise, freedom of religion, the presumption of innocence, trusted institutions within the rule of law, and equality under the law—all of those were missing when I was growing up as a child under military rule. And those values—that precious inheritance—are right now under grave threat here in the West.
Really grave threat
I dont agree with badenoch's approach at all but if we dont get our act together then we're going to lose it all. One way or another very radical change is happening in front of our eyes. We can't 'manage' our way out of it.
All this home building stuff is really good from labour
I must have missed most of that. What do you have in mind?
Latest line was 'building homes where the demand is greatest' which is barely code for 'build homes where the private developers can make most profit'. Which will come with loads of promises but will basically be houses for the better off on sold off very cheaply, very valuable real estate.
I must have missed most of that. What do you have in mind?
Latest line was 'building homes where the demand is greatest' which is barely code for 'build homes where the private developers can make most profit'. Which will come with loads of promises but will basically be houses for the better off on sold off very cheaply, very valuable real estate.
Kensington & Chelsea is being ordered to build 5,107 homes annually - even though it has only been averaging 236 in the past few years.
Richmond-upon-Thames has been generating 154 a year, but will now be obliged to hit a number that is 16 times higher, at 2,513.
Its mandating new building across lots of areas
I dont fully understand the differnece- but- lots of new houses is generically a good thing
I hope it proves good but they have no cash to build so it's basically forcing them to agree to whatever private equity wants to do.
Without delving deeper, in London it looks like increased targets mainly in desirable parts of Zone 1 and 2 and decreased elsewhere. Without a decent percent of affordable housing these will be luxury homes for multi millionaires. chez will no longer be the richest kid in his road.
Classic liberal values—not left-wing progressivism, but the classic liberalism of free markets, free speech, free enterprise, freedom of religion, the presumption of innocence, trusted institutions within the rule of law, and equality under the law—all of those were missing when I was growing up as a child under military rule. And those values—that precious inheritance—are right now under grave threat here in the West.
Specifically, they have been hacked by ideologues operating on the inside. But
Take this fwiw, but we had our yearly "decolonising the curriculum" meeting a couple of weeks ago. Usually during these meetings, everyone sits on their hands nodding their heads and little is said aside from a few Zealots. However, in this particular meeting there was significant pushback on some of these ideas from several faculty members, including myself.
Anyway, I think Wokeism/Cultural Marxism is pretty much done at this point. Trump winning so emphatically was the turning point and although I'm sure a few young diehards will keep peddling this stuff, I think it's pretty much over (at least for now) as a threat to Western liberal values.
Take this fwiw, but we had our yearly "decolonising the curriculum" meeting a couple of weeks ago. Usually during these meetings, everyone sits on their hands nodding their heads and little is said aside from a few Zealots. However, in this particular meeting there was significant pushback on some of these ideas from several faculty members, including myself.
Anyway, I think Wokeism/Cultural Marxism is pretty much done at this point. Trump winning so emphatically was the turning point and althou
It will be done when/if being a woke/cultural marxist is treated like being a neonazi with a swastika tatoo on the forehead. Complete shutdown by society everywhere, no one employs you (public sector especially), denigrated as a pariah by 90%++ of the population.
I accept the fact that we are starting to win in the sense that wokes don't militarily control all institutions anymore, but that's very far from "wokism is done". They have to be utterly and permanently destroyed.
Non race-blind people, anyone suggesting any ethnic minority should get any kind of privilege by law for example, should be booed and mistreated in any public place like someone trying to take away jewish voting right or trying to re-segregate schools by law.
They are a lethal cancer to society same as neonazis or white supremacists, we shouldn't tolerate their existence in any institution
Take this fwiw, but we had our yearly "decolonising the curriculum" meeting a couple of weeks ago. Usually during these meetings, everyone sits on their hands nodding their heads and little is said aside from a few Zealots. However, in this particular meeting there was significant pushback on some of these ideas from several faculty members, including myself.
Anyway, I think Wokeism/Cultural Marxism is pretty much done at this point. Trump winning so emphatically was the turning point and althou
I bet they can't wait to hear your next attack on feminism and immigration for reducing your prospects in the dating market.
It will be done when/if being a woke/cultural marxist is treated like being a neonazi with a swastika tatoo on the forehead. Complete shutdown by society everywhere, no one employs you (public sector especially), denigrated as a pariah by 90%++ of the population.
I think anyone who walks around with blue hair and announces their pronouns at the start of every conversation is going to find a degree of soft cancellation. Not that I agree with cancelling people or ideas in any free society. Even Wokeism has ideas with some merit, for example highlighting differences in policing towards ethnic minorities. It's when the needle moves to far that is becomes an issue, and there are numerous examples of where this has happened. Chris Kaba and Jordan Neely spring to mind - I think there would have been a greater chance of conviction for either of these cases in 2019 based on the cultural zeitgeist rather than the evidence.
You sound like the older generation when I was a teenager, moaning about young people with dyed spiky hair who they cancelled by not letting their bands play gigs because they didn’t like what they had to say.
Conservatism is pathetic.
You sound like the older generation when I was a teenager, moaning about young people with dyed spiky hair who they cancelled by not letting their bands play gigs because they didn’t like what they had to say.
Conservatism is pathetic.
If we had listened to older generation rightwing people in Italy, telling us how the leftist students in the 70s-80s in college were a direct threat to the survival of the nation as we knew it, we wouldn't have unelected radical leftist judges right now destroying the very fabric of democracy.
They were absolutely right, and decades ago like today the biggest threat we face for our quality of life, for our security, for our well being, is domestic in western countries, and it's represented by leftism. Basically all problems of society are caused by leftism being allowed to exist, to spread, to get power and to use that power against us.
It has been so many decades since rightwing abuses of power were a problem in europe. The right is non existent, even "rightwing" parties are just center left. Which of course makes them objectively less dangerous to society than actual leftist parties.
I think anyone who walks around with blue hair and announces their pronouns at the start of every conversation is going to find a degree of soft cancellation. Not that I agree with cancelling people or ideas in any free society. Even Wokeism has ideas with some merit, for example highlighting differences in policing towards ethnic minorities. It's when the needle moves to far that is becomes an issue, and there are numerous examples of where this has happened. Chris Kaba and Jordan Neely spring
It's not about the hairs and the pronouns, it's bigger than that.
As i mentioned , affirmative action. If proposed by someone with a decent aesthetics, dressed like a proper person and using normal language, it's still a lethal threat to society.
We have gender quotas in elections in some countries (including Italy). GENDER QUOTA. Party lists for european elections in Italy have to be made of 50% men 50% women. By law.
When you get 2 preferences as a voter, you have to choose a man and a woman, otherwise the vote is *null*.
It doesn't matter how you are dressed if you defend that: if you defend that you should be completly canceled from society like a nazi would. Canceling people and ideas is proper and good, it's just that the left canceled absolutely healthy and normal people and ideas, when THEY are the people and the ideas incompatible with civil society.
You sound like the older generation when I was a teenager, moaning about young people with dyed spiky hair who they cancelled by not letting their bands play gigs because they didn’t like what they had to say.
Conservatism is pathetic.
Conservatism is as necessary as progressivism to stop runaway societal anxiety and disorder (and in the worst cases decay and disaster). Progress should be waves slowly going up the beach, slightly receding, but then coming back slightly stronger, but ultimately moving higher and higher.
Not a tsunami just because the unsilent minority demand it.
Conservatism is as necessary as progressivism to stop runaway societal anxiety and disorder (and in the worst cases decay and disaster). Progress should be waves slowly going up the beach, slightly receding, but then coming back slightly stronger, but ultimately moving higher and higher.
Not a tsunami just because the unsilent minority demand it.
in the normal state of nature the waves don't erode the beach though. there is no "progress" in the sea vs beach metaphor, just a steady state of pendulum swinging toward a fixed mean beach size.
progressivism is waves eroding the beach and eating it all.
the "arc of history " of progressivism is an historic and moral lie.
Conservatism is as necessary as progressivism to stop runaway societal anxiety and disorder (and in the worst cases decay and disaster). Progress should be waves slowly going up the beach, slightly receding, but then coming back slightly stronger, but ultimately moving higher and higher.
Not a tsunami just because the unsilent minority demand it.
Good analogy and I agree
If we had listened to older generation rightwing people in Italy, telling us how the leftist students in the 70s-80s in college were a direct threat to the survival of the nation as we knew it, we wouldn't have unelected radical leftist judges right now destroying the very fabric of democracy.
They were absolutely right, and decades ago like today the biggest threat we face for our quality of life, for our security, for our well being, is domestic in western countries, and it's represented by lef
How many world war since the left « took » over since the 1970s-80?
On that same note, which country today in Europe u consider far left (like communist I suppose?) for endangering European or the stability of Europe ?
Ps: u considering Israel’s a leftish country ?
Is it that kind of behaviour u say it’s not endangering the region and its people ?
Conservatism is as necessary as progressivism to stop runaway societal anxiety and disorder (and in the worst cases decay and disaster). Progress should be waves slowly going up the beach, slightly receding, but then coming back slightly stronger, but ultimately moving higher and higher.
Not a tsunami just because the unsilent minority demand it.
It's also about way it's done. The shaming approach is appallingly stupid. The lack of serious policies on the big political issues is even worse.
